Meow Lightbox
by Jordy Meow · Uncategorized
Also makes 29 other plugins · 352.1K+ installs across the portfolio →
The elegant lightbox built for photographers. Fast, responsive, and displays your photos beautifully with EXIF data and maps. You'll love it! 💕
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
A 90/100
no flags
Active installs
10K+
≈19K estimated
Momentum
+80%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “responsive” for “deep linking”. “responsive” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “deep linking” sits at #5 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
90 health vs 58 average across 25,736 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.2%
of downloads still active
At least 10K of 462.8K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,764 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 30 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Excellent listing optimization
Well tuned across the board
Updated 1 day ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.9★ over 190 reviews, smoothed to 4.73★
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
1 of 1 support threads resolved in the last 2 months
Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
33
Momentum
Losing ground
-1.1
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
14%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.8
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| camera | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| meow | #2 | #2 | 0 |
| photoswipe your tag | #3 | #2 | 0 |
| gps | #2 | #1 | 0 |
| lightbox your tag | #5 | #5 | down 3 |
| photographers | #5 | #5 | up 1 |
| photography your tag | #6 | #6 | down 3 |
| deep linking | #5 | #5 | up 1 |
| photographer | #5 | #6 | down 1 |
| exif your tag | #9 | #5 | down 2 |
| easy lightbox | #4 | #3 | 0 |
| wordpress lightbox | #5 | #4 | down 3 |
| responsive lightbox | #5 | #2 | down 3 |
| coordinates | #11 | #8 | down 5 |
| keyboard | #16 | #13 | — |
| keyboard navigation | #16 | #12 | 0 |
| love it | #24 | #21 | 0 |
| love | #24 | #20 | down 8 |
| transition | #17 | #9 | down 4 |
| leaflet | #16 | #11 | down 5 |
| responsive your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
87 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 59 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 1 of its tags isn't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “responsive” for “deep linking”. “responsive” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “deep linking” sits at #5 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 34.9K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
30
releases in the last 12 months
yesterday
latest release · v5.6.5 · 30 Oct 2026
147
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “10K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 18 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 90% of the way through.
Install history since 4 May 2020
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ jhmnieuwenhuis4mo ago
Excellent plugin and equally important, there support is the best !
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Lazylonewolf4mo ago
My site uses both Simple Lightbox and Jetpack’s Carousel.They work well enough, but I hate that I need two separate plugins to display solo and gallery images, particularly that they look different from each other. With Meow Lightbox and Gallery, well, it’s still two separate plugins but at least the look of the lightbox and galleries are consistent. I also didn’t need to edit PHP files unlike with Simple Lightbox. One caveat though: both plugins don’t seem to play well with the LiteSpeed Cache plugin for any preset above Essential. I wager its because of the QUIC.cloud connection… while I have encountered minimal problems with Jetpack and Simple Lightbox even with QUIC.cloud.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ pixelzeit5mo ago
Als einfacher Anwender und Internetseitenbetreiber (www.pixelzeiten.de) kann ich die Lightbox nur empfehlen. Die Einstellungen sind übersichtlich und super schön in ihrer Umsetzung. Als Hobbyfotograf ist man sehr glücklich, das es die Plugins von Meow gibt. Einfach nah an der Praxis.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ FormidlerLone5mo ago
Easy to use, and looks great. Many ways to costumize.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ gpcammino5mo ago
Mi sono trovato subito bene grazie ai programmatori
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kaiyoma6mo ago
This lightbox plugin is incredible. It works equally well with keyboard, mouse, or touchscreen – the UX is really snappy and intuitive. The overlay is nicely designed, responsive (in terms of both layout and interactions), and honestly joyful to use. One of my favorite features is that the lightbox will collect all the images from your post, even if the images are separated by paragraphs (other lightbox plugins struggle with this). All told, another amazing plugin by Jordy!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ lenswanderings7mo ago
Originally I had the Cache – Disable box ticked and this caused a lot of frustration with caption edits not being shown. After un-ticking the box I now had access to the Reset cache button and could use it to update the display of edited captions. Does the ‘Disable cache’ not work? I find this counterintuitive but now have a workflow which seems to do the job. The rest of the Lightbox plugin works extremely well. Thank you for supporting photographers! This topic was modified 3 months ago by lenswanderings.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ popkaraie7mo ago
Simple is fine.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 5.5.8 Fix: Resolved an issue where gallery infinite scroll could get stuck in a load more loop. Update: Removed placeholder image handling in the lightbox. Add: Translations support for the lightbox interface with additional l 5.5.8
- — Version 5.5.7 Update: Fullscreen is now a toolbar action, with “Start Fullscreen” available as a secondary option for mobile and desktop. Update: Date and Time are now separate settings in EXIF metadata display. Fix: Images without a 5.5.7
- — Version 5.5.6 Add: Dynamic aria-label updates for lightboxified images. Update: Removed default titles from next and previous buttons. Add: Internationalization support in lightbox components. Fix: Sub-pixel flickers in the lightbox d 5.5.6
- — Version 5.5.5 Update: Refreshed the welcome message screen with a new layout. Update: Better UI/UX. 5.5.5
- — Version 5.5.4 Add: Question icon to the Tutorial button in the header. Add: Support for JSON styling on Google Maps. Update: Refactored output buffering logic. 5.5.4
- — Version 5.5.3 Fix: Resolved an issue where dynamic cache keys could exceed the WordPress transient name limit by using MD5 hashing. Fix: Resolved an issue where scrolling with the mouse wheel on the Description field was not working c 5.5.3
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceThe 1 disclosed vulnerability is patched in the current version (5.6.5). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Medium · 6.4 Meow Lightbox <= 5.6.2 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Output Buffering parser noise substitution via comment body + display_name ↗2026-10-13 CVE-2026-107756 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 5.6.2 Patched in 5.6.3
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 10 languages, 3 at 90% or more
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
8 of 8 pass · checked 26 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "The elegant lightbox built for photographers. Fast, responsive, and displays your photos beautifully with E..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 8 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 8 of 8 read like questions a user would type.
- ✓ Names who it is for Names its audience or use cases ("perfect for", "built for").
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions WooCommerce, Google Maps, Zoom.
- ✓ Headings and lists 5 headings and 6 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 2,831 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 5 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-05-14 9K+ → 10K+ up after 299 days in tier
- 2024-07-19 8K+ → 9K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-07-18 9K+ → 8K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-07-17 8K+ → 9K+ up after 147 days in tier
- 2024-02-21 7K+ → 8K+ up after 223 days in tier
- 2023-07-13 6K+ → 7K+ up after 282 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 5K+ → 6K+ up after 360 days in tier
- 2021-10-09 4K+ → 5K+ up after 319 days in tier
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
- S Simple Lightbox 100K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A
-
Lightbox with PhotoSwipe 20K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
Photoswipe Masonry 6K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A -
VenoBox Lightbox 1K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D - B blueimp lightbox 1K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags D
- E Easy Photo Album 1K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags C
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Meow Lightbox into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/meow-lightbox" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Meow Lightbox — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Meow Lightbox: 10K+ active installs, 4.9★ (190 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/meow-lightbox
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